# Thruxton Circuit

The Thruxton Circuit is a 2.356 mi (3.792 km) motor-racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom, about 30 mi (48 km) north of Southampton.
It has hosted motorsport events including the British Touring Car Championship, British GT Championship, British Formula One Championship, British Formula Three, and GB3 Championship. It is often referred to as the "Fastest Circuit in the UK" where drivers can reach speeds of over 190 mph (300 km/h) and has earned the reputation of being a true driver's track. To illustrate this, Damon Hill drove his Williams Formula One car around the circuit at an average speed of 147 mph (237 km/h) in 1993. There is a reasonable similarity between the Thruxton layout and the original Silverstone layout used until 1990.
The site also houses the headquarters of the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC).

## History

The site was originally constructed in 1942 as RAF Thruxton, a World War II airfield which was home to both the RAF and USAAF and was used for troop-carrying aircraft and gliders, including operations during the D-Day landings. Also, the paratroopers who took part in the successful Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting), in which German radar equipment was seized on the coast of France, took off from here.
The circuit, which follows the line of the airfield's perimeter road, was established in 1968. From 1950 to 1965, motorbike races had taken place on the runways and perimeter road.
Thruxton Circuit was resurfaced in 2000, resulting in lap times dropping considerably compared to the previous year.

## Motorsport activities

Owing to planning restrictions, the circuit can only run 12 days of motorsport each year. Currently, three are devoted to motorbike racing, with a weekend dedicated to the British Superbike Championship, Britain's premier motorcycle racing category; with the third day being used for club racing.
The remaining days are devoted to car racing with weekends being used for the TOCA British Touring Car Championship, the British Formula 3 and British GT Championship package and the Dunlop Great and British Festival, which features rounds of the British Truck Racing Championship, the International Truck Racing Challenge as well as the staples of the festival, including the Radical endurance races. Two separate one day meetings are run for amateur championships of the BARC, one of which is titled the Thruxton Classic, which features races for Classic Touring Cars, Classic Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000. The remaining day is allocated to other organising clubs, such as the 750 Motor Club and Historic Sports Car Club. Owing to the relative infrequency of race meetings, Thruxton continues to be a popular part of the motorsport calendar.

## Events
### Current

* June: British Touring Car Championship, F4 British Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, Thruxton Historic
* August: British Superbike Championship, British Supersport Championship, British Talent Cup
* September: TCR UK Touring Car Championship

### Former

* BOSS Formula (1996, 1998–2000)
* British Formula 3 International Series (1977–2008, 2010, 2014)
* British GT Championship (1994–1996, 2000–2005, 2007–2008)
* European Formula 5000 Championship (1970–1971, 1974–1975)
* European Formula Two Championship (1968–1984)
* FIM Endurance World Championship
** Thruxton 500 (1960–1964, 1969–1977)
* International Formula 3000 (1985)

## Lap records

The all-time outright unofficial track record is 0:57.6 seconds, set by Damon Hill in a Williams FW15C, during a demonstration run in 1993. As of September 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Thruxton Circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
| Main Circuit: 3.793 km (1968–present) |||||
| Formula 3000 | 1:01.960 | Earl Goddard | Reynard 95D | 2000 Thruxton EuroBOSS round |
| Formula Three | 1:06.752 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Dallara F308 | 2010 Thruxton British F3 round |
| Formula Two | 1:07.370 | Johnny Cecotto | March 822 | 1982 Thruxton F2 round |
| Group C | 1:07.460 | James Weaver | Porsche 956 GTi | 1986 Thruxton Interserie round |
| Formula One | 1:09.430 | Emilio de Villota | Lotus 78 | 1979 2nd Thruxton British F1 round |
| GT1 | 1:10.785 | David Warnock | Lister Storm GT | 2002 Thruxton British GT round |
| Formula 4 | 1:10.848 | Alex Dunne | Tatuus F4-T421 | 2022 1st Thruxton British F4 round |
| Formula 5000 | 1:11.000 | Vern Schuppan Ian Ashley | Lola T332 Lola T330 | 1974 2nd Thruxton F5000 round 1975 1st Thruxton F5000 round |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:12.823 | Robert de Haan | Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup | 2023 Thruxton Porsche Carrera Cup GB round |
| Super Touring | 1:13.272 | Jason Plato | Vauxhall Vectra | 2000 Thruxton BTCC round |
| N-GT | 1:13.303 | Nathan Kinch | Ferrari 360 Modena GTC | 2004 Thruxton British GT round |
| GT2 | 1:13.437 | Tim Mullen | Ferrari 360 Modena GTC | 2005 Thruxton British GT round |
| Group 6 Prototype | 1:14.000 | John Burton | Chevron B19 | 1971 2nd Thruxton RAC BSC round |
| Superbike | 1:14.655 | Josh Brookes | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 2019 Thruxton BSB round |
| Formula BMW | 1:14.709 | Stian Sørlie [no] | Mygale FB02 | 2004 Thruxton Formula BMW UK round |
| NGTC | 1:15.753 | Ashley Sutton | Ford Focus ST | 2024 Thruxton BTCC round |
| Group 7 Racing Car | 1:16.200 | Jo Siffert | Porsche 917 | 1971 1st Thruxton RAC BSC round |
| Supersport | 1:16.384 | Jack Kennedy | Honda CBR600RR | 2024 Thruxton BSS round |
| BTC Touring | 1:17.303 | Yvan Muller | BTC-T Vauxhall Astra Coupe | 2002 Thruxton BTCC round |
| Group 4 Sports Car | 1:17.400 | Brian Redman | Lola T70 Mk.3B GT | 1969 Embassy Trophy |
| Sports 2000 | 1:17.880 | Ray Bellm | Chevron B36 | 1984 Thruxton Thundersports round |
| Sportbike | 1:20.158 | Ash Barnes | Yamaha YZF-R7 | 2024 Thruxton British Sportbike round |
| Group A | 1:20.640 | Dave Brodie | Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth | 1989 1st Thruxton BTCC round |
| Group 5 Sports Car | 1:21.000 | Peter Brown | Ferrari 512 M | 1972 Thruxton MN GT round |
| BMW F900R Cup | 1:21.404 | Richard Cooper | BMW F900R | 2023 Thruxton BMW F900R Cup round |
| Moto3 | 1:21.623 | Amanuel Brinton | Honda NSF250R | 2024 Thruxton British Talent Cup round |
| TCR Touring Car | 1:23.543 | Adam Shepherd | Cupra León Competición TCR | 2024 Thruxton TCR UK round |
| Main Circuit: 4.437 km (1952–1964) |||||
| Formula Two | 2:00.000 | Tony Rolt | Connaught Type A | 1953 Bristol MC & LCC Race |
| Sports car racing | 2:05.200 | Jimmy Stewart | Jaguar C-type | 1953 Thruxton National Sports Car race |

## Medical and safety services

Thruxton has a medical centre in line with Motor Sports Association standards.
The MSA circuit licence requires a minimum of two doctors and two rescue units for a race meeting. Most meetings are operated with three rescue units plus a medical car, along with ambulances and first aiders.

## Points of interest

During race weekends, a radio commentary service called Radio Thruxton operates in the FM band on 87.7 MHz. This has commentators at key points of the track as well as a pit reporter, who conducts interviews with the race winners.
Outside of motor racing, the circuit offers a driving school for aspiring racing drivers. It has featured as the venue for BBC Three's 2005 series Stars in Fast Cars.

## The "Thruxton" heritage

As a result of its racing associations, the name "Thruxton" has been used for:
* Triumph Thruxton, a series of café racer motorcycles
* Velocette Thruxton, a sport motorcycle
* Thruxton handlebars, a type of motorcycle handlebar that is shaped to provide a clip-on-type handlebar position, but which clamps on top of the yoke rather than onto the fork stanchions. Thruxton handlebars are also known as "Ace 'bars" or "Clubman 'bars".

## Thruxton Hospitality Centre

The Thruxton Hospitality Centre was opened in June 2018 by Nigel Mansell and Murray Walker. The £2million flagship building is the latest addition to the circuit, forming part of the track's modernisation project. The new building is a 1415m² facility with more than ten conference and function rooms as well as hospitality suites, a restaurant and bar, an exhibition space and catering facilities. A first floor terrace and balcony provides a view of the first-corner and across the venue.

## Driving experiences

Aside from hosting major motor racing events, Thruxton Motorsport Centre offers driving experiences. Next to the main circuit is the 1,200 yd (1,100 m) long Thruxton Karting Circuit.